LAUSR

Abstract The environmental impact of trade liberalisation is uncertain. Investigating the impact of China’s trade with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI-participating economies) on the green development of China’s logistics industry is of great significance. This research not only may help the dividends from BRI construction activities reach their full potential but also promote global ecological improvement. This study is the first attempt to analyse the impact of China’s trade with BRI-participating economies on China’s logistics industry’s ecological total factor energy efficiency (ETFEE) from the perspective of ecological economics, and identify its relative role in China’s trade with other regions. The research indicates that China’s logistics industry’s ETFEE exhibits high growth momentum. China’s trade with BRI-participating economies positively promotes its logistics industry’s ETFEE through ecological technological progress. This effect becomes more distinct with the advancement of BRI construction. Compared to China’s trade with the whole world and non-BRI-participating economies, the promotion effect of China’s exports to BRI-participating economies on ETFEE remains to be further released. Based on the findings, corresponding policy implications are proposed.